God the Father took slow measured steps as He walked through
the streets of Heaven. He was lost in contemplation over the latest turn of
events. He knew that His decision to reveal everything to Ryan was rash, and
there would be many who would question Him, but He had had no other option.

Passing by His favorite store, He smiled at the owner and
continued. The Kingdom of Heaven was like any other nation state found on
Earth. There were stores selling everyday goods, houses to live in, and clubs
to party in and what not. All those earthlings who thought that one could only
enjoy in Hell and that Heaven was filled with angels sitting on clouds with
harps in their hands were in for a rude shock if and when they arrived here.
God sniggered at that thought. The only difference between life on Earth and
here would be that there was nothing to worry about here. No thieves, no moral
policing and above all no money! Everyone in heaven worked for the pleasure of
it and not for monetary gains.

Deep in His thoughts, God didn't realize when the busy
street changed into a lone one leading up to a magnificent building. The Great Palace
stood imposingly in contrast to the small buildings God had just passed. Made
from the finest marble and by the great architects who also created the Taj
Mahal, The Great Palace was truly a sight to behold.

Taking a deep breath, God trudged up the path leading to a
huge door guarded by the palace guards. The guards bowed their heads in reverence
and allowed Him to enter the palace. The doors opened to reveal a large hall
with a flight of stairs in the middle. Priceless artifacts and decorative
ornaments lay around in strategic places to increase the ambience of the place.
A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and the furniture of the drawing
room was exquisite. God climbed up the stairs and walked up to the conference
hall on His left.

Pandemonium greeted Him as He entered the hall as about two
hundred other Gods argued amongst each other at the top of their voices around
a huge conference table. A visibly disturbed Lord Brahma sat at its head.
Seeing God the Father enter, He called for silence. When He didn't get any
response, He stood up and His ten heads bellowed in one voice, "SILENCE!!"

The hall immediately fell silent and all the other Gods
looked at Lord Brahma, searching for the cause of His displeasure. One by one,
they spotted God the Father standing by the door and slowly but steadily a
murmur started which threatened to get out of hand. But before that could
happen, Lord Brahma invited God the Father inside and asked Him to take a seat.

Complying with the Lord's request, God the Father took an
empty seat not far from where the former sat. Lord Brahma turned towards Him
and with a stern look on all his faces, asked, "I'm sure, Father, that you have
a valid explanation for your actions."

"Indeed I have. My sources told me that the boy was
constantly trying to do himself away and I was of the opinion that this would
have resulted in quite a situation."

Lord Shiva enquired, "But do you realize the risk you have
taken by telling everything to a seventeen-year old? What if he did
something...?"

God the Father cut Him off, "I have not divulged everything
about the prophecy and the boy's role. He just knows that he is the Pondera
Custodis. Nothing more. Moreover, he is the sanest person on that planet. Do
you think he would do anything which would jeopardize its existence?"

"I ask you to have him monitored at all times. We can't risk
anything," said Lord Brahma.

"St. Peter is arranging for that as we speak."

"Then this Council has no more to ask from you, Father.
Thank You for your patience." Lord Brahma turned to Narada and began asking Him
about the situation in Afghanistan while God the Father got lost in His own
thoughts.

*********

Ryan lay in Josh's arms savoring the feeling being in love
gives. His mind though, was in a flurry of thoughts, pondering over the latest
twist his life was going through. It seemed to him that whenever he thought
that his life couldn't surprise him any more, it did just that with a fury,
leaving him stupefied.

He never, even in his wildest dreams, imagined that destiny
had such an important task in store for him. It still scared him, being Pondera
Custodis. But he felt happy, for it is not everyday that you are special.

Normal classes for the occupants of room 107/3 were to resume
on that morning. Due to his depression, Ryan had missed out on a lot of
classes. Not that it mattered now. You could put a PhD paper in front of him
and he'd breeze through it without batting an eyelid.

He got up from the bed, carefully disentangling himself from
the sheets and from Josh, and started getting ready. He looked towards the
sleeping form of his boyfriend and wondered what good karma he had
performed in his previous life to deserve such a loving partner. Looking back,
Ryan reflected that Josh was every bit of a man he had desired and even more,
realizing just then how lucky he was to have Josh in his life.

"I know I am irresistible, but damn! I must be smokin' for
you to give me that look. It looks as if you'd ravish me just with your gaze."

Ryan blinked out of the trance he was in and laughed, at the
same time admiring Josh's physique, as the latter stretched himself, putting on
a show.

"As cocky as ever. One day you'll burst, you're so full of
yourself." Ryan joked. "Now get up or we'll be late for school."

"Yeah, it's my first day after the injury and I wouldn't
want to start on the teacher's bad side." He paused and then added with a wink,
"Care to join me in the shower?"

"Horndog." Ryan laughed, leaving for the showers.

********

School had always been a fun thing for Ryan. He enjoyed the
time he spent with his friends more than anything. Studies were just an added
bonus, but it was the socializing that made school attractive to him.

When Josh came into his life and added his friends to
Ryan's, it made things much sweeter. There was a quantum leap in Ryan's
cheerful attitude. But during the days of Josh's injury, the carefree Ryan
became a shell of his former self. Now, though, even a blind man could see the
glow that radiated from him as he walked with Josh towards their classes.

The boys were in grade eleven and their classes were towards
the far end of the building. As such, it took them a good amount of time to
leisurely walk to their destination. They made it just as the bell indicating
the start of the first class rang.

First class, History, which was Ryan's least favorite. The
teacher was a jackass and that was evident from the first sentence that he
heard when Ryan entered the classroom, Josh following him.

"So, I can see that Mr. Henderson has agreed to grace us
with his presence," Mr. Bryce sneered. He never liked the boy. He was too smart
for his own good and despite his mischievousness, managed to get good grades; a
fact that had the teacher royally pissed. "And fashionably late as usual," he
added as an afterthought.

Biting back a retort, Ryan let himself in and sat down on
his usual seat at the back of the class, glad that the other students had left
it empty. Mr. Bryce next noticed Josh enter and turned his attention on the
poor boy.

"Look who decided to wake up?! We thought you'd never join
us Mr. Summers."

A pointed look towards Ryan effectively shut him off. Josh
wanted to deal with this man himself. "Well, I had to wake up; couldn't take
any more nightmares of a certain History teacher," he jeered at the teacher.
"Now if you may allow me, I have a class to attend."

With a smirk planted on his face, he promptly joined Ryan
and faced the blackboard, cutting out the image of a dumbfounded History
teacher who stood in front of it. Mr. Bryce quickly regained his composure and silenced
the snickering class.

The rest of the class went by without any incident,
discounting the death glares that Mr. Bryce gave the two boys sitting at the
back of his class.

Next class was English Literature and also Ryan's favorite.
He really enjoyed the class and hoped to become an author someday. Josh also liked
this class being an avid debater. Today they were to do Shakespeare's Julius
Caesar. The boys had already read this play a long time back and were actually
looking forward to reading it in class.

Ms. Sanders, the teacher, was a lovely lady. She was one of
those teachers that made learning fun. Always cheerful, never reprimanding
anyone and always supportive, she was poles apart from the History teacher the
class had just endured. Ms. Sanders had a personality that exuded love, caring
and understanding; like a mother. It was no wonder that every student liked
her.

Ryan and Josh entered Ms. Sanders' classroom expecting
another reprimand for the former. No teacher was happy with him owing to the
long absence from classes. Ryan braced himself for the admonishment that was to
follow. Instead, he found himself being pushed aside as Ms. Sanders enveloped a
baffled Josh in a hug.

"Oh honey! You're back. Thank God you're fine. How are you
feeling? Is everything okay with you? Do you hurt anywhere? How are you...?"

"Ms. Sanders...Air!" gasped Josh. Once the teacher let him
go, he looked around at the few students in embarrassment and shrugged. Looking
at a now sheepish Ms. Sanders, he smiled at her, "I'm fine Ms. Sanders. Thank
you for asking."

Josh gave the sniggering Ryan a shove towards their seats
and sat down with a thump. The goofy grin on Ryan's face forced him into a
smile as well. Ryan's smile was always infectious, and Josh felt himself drawn
to those brown eyes each time they lit up with it. Just as he was about to lose
himself again, the sound of someone clearing their throat brought him back to
reality.

"Pleeeze! Get a room!" Jessica said to the pair, sitting
down in front of them and then turning back.

"Hey Jess. Wassup?" Josh asked.

"Nothing much, just got off from Wacky Williams' class. I
tell you, he can make Statistics sound like a freaking soap opera!" Jessica
grumbled. Wentworth Williams was Jessica's Economics teacher.

"At least you suffered through some drama, Josh and I had to
go through Boring Bryce's class. He started off regarding my absence and then
started cussing Josh. But my boy here put him in his place." Ryan beamed.

"It wasn't that big," said Josh, a little pink in the face.
He knew how Jessica felt about speaking back to a teacher, and he was correct
when she started berating him about his misdemeanor.

Further bickering was cut off with the arrival of Scott,
John and Mark. John sat next to Jessica while Scott and Mark took up a seat
behind Ryan and Josh. Their group always sat like this, and like a ritual, John
pulled Jessica's hair-ribbon off of her hair. The fight that followed was
always cut off by the sound of the teacher announcing the start of the class.

As expected, Ryan and Josh both enjoyed Julius Caesar. John
and Jessica kept up their banter while Scott and Mark played tic-tac-toe during
class.

Yep, life is normal again, thought Ryan.

********

Unknown to Ryan and St. Peter, who was keeping a watch over
the former via Heaven's Communication Centre, a mysterious, invisible figure
stood outside the classroom, looking in through the window towards the
black-haired boy sitting in the second-last seat.

The figure smirked to himself, satisfied with the
information it had gathered and went back to where it had come from.

********

A/N

Hope you liked the seventh installment of Alpha and Omega. I
apologize for the delay. Much is going on in my life and to take out time for
writing is a bit difficult. Thanks for not getting impatient.

Thanks to my Editors, TalonRider and BondWriter for making
this story presentable.

I would like to thank all those who have sent me positive
feedback about this story.

This is my first attempt at writing so please feel free to
comment about the positives and negatives of this story. More will be up as
soon as I write it. LOL